Shigeru Mizuki/History
Early life Shigeru Mizuki was born on March 8, 1922 in Kohama, Nishinari, Osaka"Mizuki-san's Theory of Happiness" by Shigeru Mizuki, pg. 33 (present day Sumiyoshi, Osaka"Walking With Yōkai: Document Shigeru Mizuki" by Noriyuki Adachi, pg. 70), the second son of Ryōichi and Kotoe Mura. According to Mizuki, at the time his father worked at a relative's printing company in Osaka near Umeda Station. When his mother was pregnant, she came from their hometown of Sakaiminato to visit his father when she gave birth to him. In order for his father to start a company that imports and sells agricultural equipment with some parrtners, they soon moved back to his hometown in present-day Irifune, Sakaiminato. Their reason for returning to Sakaiminato was that "the air in Osaka was so bad you couldn't even drink the milk". Mizuki's exact age when he moved to Sakaiminato is unknown, but it was somewhere between a month after his birth"Am I Truly Stupid" by Shigeru Mizuki"Walking With Yōkai: Document Shigeru Mizuki" by Noriyuki Adachi to around the time he was 2 years old"Mizuki-san's Theory of Happiness" by Shigeru MizukiMizuki's answer to this question has differed over the years, sometimes saying shortly after his birth and sometime saying when he was 2. His father soon moved back as well after his business failed, and the whole family settled down in Sakaiminato. One day when he was 5, he had a sudden interest in death and decided to throw his 3 year old brother into the sea. Luckily a nearby adult saw the incident and told their parents. Mizuki was scolded by his parents and had moxibustion applied to him by his great aunt, who was living with the family at the time, in order to cure his morbid obsession"Mizuki-san's Theory of Happiness" by Shigeru Mizuki, pgs. 43-44. Childhood Mizuki lived a fairly privileged childhood, although his parents often found paying for his education difficult, even delaying his enrollment into elementary school one year. He was not exactly a model student, often sleeping late or taking a long breakfast and making it to school two hours late. At the time, collecting newspaper front pages was a popular hobby among children, and even when other children grew out of it, Mizuki continued to collect them. Mizuki could also fart at will, and would often do so during morning assemblies in order to get a big laugh out of the other children"Mizuki-san's Theory of Happiness" by Shigeru Mizuki, pg. 48. Other than sports and art Mizuki got rather poor grades"Mizuki-san's Theory of Happiness" by Shigeru Mizuki, pg. 50, but because he was a year older than most of his peers he was physically stronger and would eventually become the leader of the neighborhood kid's gang. After graduating elementary school, he tried to enroll in junior high schoolIn the pre-war education system, this was the equivalent of three years of junior high and two years of high school in the current system, a five-year system at the timeIn 1943 it was shortened to a four-year system, and after World War II it was integrated into the current junior high/high school system.. In the early Showa period, most children from rural areas entered society with just an elementary school education"Perspective of Review Part 1: Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology", but according to Mizuki, while Sakaiminato was a poor port town, the locals had passion and most advanced to the next level of education. His mother was also enthusiastic about his education, especially since both of his brothers had such high marks"Mizuki-san's Theory of Happiness" by Shigeru Mizuki, pg. 55. However, Mizuki would eventually begin neglecting his studies, and his entrance exam instructor even told his mother that "it's hopeless". While he felt nervous about the future at the time, as soon as he got into a prep school and advanced to advanced elementary school he went back to being a carefree child. Even in advanced elementary school his grades in art were good, and at his vice-principal's suggestion he had a exhibition of his class paintings at the town hall"Mizuki-san's Theory of Happiness" by Shigeru Mizuki, pg. 56. The show was even covered in the local newspaper He also won the top prize in many school competitions and was once awarded his vice-principal's oil paints as a reward for his work"Mizuki-san's Theory of Happiness" by Shigeru Mizuki, pg. 57. Even after graduating advanced elementary school he did not move on to junior high, and instead he decided to leave town and look for work. At the time his father worked for a life-insurance company in Kobe, and he helped him move out to Osaka by introducing him to a relative"Mizuki-san's Theory of Happiness" by Shigeru Mizuki, pg. 58. While his mother was quite worried about him moving away when he hadn't done as well as his brothers, Mizuki himself felt no anxiety and looked forward to moving from the sticks to the big city"Mizuki-san's Theory of Happiness" by Shigeru Mizuki, pg. 59. Teen years Mizuki was overwhelmed by all the people walking to and from work in Osaka and thought the street lights at night looked like a festival. He worked as a live-in employee at a lithograph company in Tanimachi (present-day Chūo, Osaka), but he couldn't keep up with the job due to his laid-back personality and was fired after only two months"Shigeru Mizuki's Side Story Manga: The Complete Collection Version (Post War Arc)" by Shigeru Mizuki, pg. 480. Next he worked at Komura Printing in Terada but he couldn't memorize the delivery routes, and even when he did memorize them he would leave the packages in places where the customers wouldn't always see them, and so he was fired from this job as well"Mizuki-san's Theory of Happiness" by Shigeru Mizuki, pg. 61. Afterwards, while living with his relative, he fell ill and showed symptoms of jaundice, so he moved back to Tottori to receive medical treatment"Am I Truly Stupid?" by Shigeru Mizuki, pg. 18. After Mizuki returned home, his father felt that work and life in the city did not suit him and allowed him to follow his desired career, painting. Mizuki recalls leaping to his feet when his father told him of his decision"Mizuki-san's Theory of Happiness" by Shigeru Mizuki, pg. 64. Taking into consideration how bad he was at focusing and studying, Mizuki searched for an art school with no entrance exam or qualifications. Before long, in Uehon, Osaka, he found the Kyoto Fine Arts School (currently the Kyoto City University of Arts), which at the time did not require an entrance examMaruki Art Museum Curator's Diary. However, it was a pretty small school and functioned more like a private school, with the principal and staff serving as both teachers and clerks and the lessons were closer to a sketch class"Mizuki-san's Theory of Happiness" by Shigeru Mizuki, pg. 65. Mizuki had worked hard trying to become a self-taught painter, and as such considered himself a better artist than most of his teachers. Soon after this disappointment, he stopped going to school and instead killed time in nearby woods and mountains. Incidentally, one of Mizuki's classmates was the painter Iri Maruki. After this he decided to switch schools, and he had his sights set on the Tokyo Fine Arts School (currently the Tokyo University of the Arts)"Mizuki-san's Theory of Happiness" by Shigeru Mizuki, pg. 68. Because he only graduated elementary school, however, he had no qualifications for art school, so he began to rethink junior high, quite Kyoto and took the entrance exam for Osaka Horticultural School. Fortunately that year the only subject for the entrance exam was Japanese history, which Mizuki knew a good deal about"Mizuki-san's Theory of Happiness" by Shigeru Mizuki, pg. 69. Additionally, only 51 people applied and the entrance quota was 50 (meaning only one person could fail), so Mizuki was confident of his success and didn't even go to view the results, but his father checked for him and it turned out Mizuki failed to pass"Mizuki-san's Theory of Happiness" by Shigeru Mizuki, pg. 70. Mizuki believed the reason for his failure stemmed from the fact that, when asked what he planned on doing upon graduation, he answered honestly that he wasn't really interested in horticulture rather than giving a more model answer like "join the Manchurian Reclamation Volunteer Army""Mizuki-san's Theory of Happiness" by Shigeru Mizuki, pg. 71. Mizuki got depressed over the failure, but his father consoled him by asking "What would you have done if you really had gone to Manchuria, anyway?" In 1940, while working as a newspaper deliverer, he applied for another school (the Japanese Mining School) and passed this time. However, as was usual, he had no interest in the subject at hand, so his grades began slipping and he began missing days, so he was expelled after only half a year. Soon after he also quit his job and went to the Nakanoshima Movie Research Institute in Osaka. Afterwords he spoke to his parents, and at their suggestion he enrolled in the Osaka Night Middle School, which was connected to Nihon University. In the daytime he once again delivered newspapers, and during holidays he'd take in a show at the Takarazuka Revue and visited the Takarazuka Family Land zoo or insect house"Am I Truly Stupid?" by Shigeru Mizuki, pgs. 68-70. During this time, the Pacific War broke out. Military service When he turned 20 Mizuki reported for his physical"Mizuki-san's Theory of Happiness" by Shigeru Mizuki, pg. 77, and although he was nearsighted he was otherwise healthy, so he passed with a B grade"Mizuki-san's Theory of Happiness" by Shigeru Mizuki, pg. 7 and was enlisted into the army reserves. As the war intensified and the military expanded it's draft to include even soldiers who passed with a B grade, the likelihood he would be deployed grew and grew. Believeing he would certainly die if deployed, Mizuki began reading various philosohpy and religious books, such as the writings of Buddha and the Bible"Mizuki-san's Theory of Happiness" by Shigeru Mizuki, pg. 76. His favorite among these was Johann Peter Eckermann's "Conversations with Goethe", which he even took with him to the battlefield. At the age of 21, while still a third year in night school, Mizuki received his draft papers and reported to the 40th Infantry Regiment in Tottori. Upon leaving for service, he was automatically expelled from night school. Even as a soldier Mizuki kept living at his own pace, and as a result he was seen as a trouble maker by his superiors and often punished to wash the backs of older soldiers at bath time."Mizuki-san's Theory of Happiness" by Shigeru Mizuki, pg. 79 After his first year was complete he was put with the Bugle Corps, but he could not play the instrument well so he requested a transfer."Mizuki-san's Theory of Happiness" by Shigeru Mizuki, pg. 81 At first he was unable to get through to anyone, but after the third time his sergeant asked him "Would you rather go north or south?". Assuming he was being offered a domestic deployment, Mizuki answered "south"."Mizuki-san's Theory of Happiness" by Shigeru Mizuki, pg. 8 He was certain he was being sent to regiment somewhere in Southern Japan such as Kyushu, but he soon turned pale when he was told he was being sent to Rabaul, New Britain. Mizuki was aware of the situation there at the time, so he was allowed to return home to his parents for 3 days but was not allowed to speak while there. Mizuki was sent to Infantry No. 229 Regiment (Gifu Prefecture, Division 38) and was transported from Palau to Rabaul on the battleship Shinanomaru, which has seen action in the Russo-Japanese War."Shigeru Mizuki's Rabaul War Journal" by Shigeru Mizuki, pg. 15 Despite an enemy torpedo attack, his troop made it Rabaul safely, but since the other troops heading for Rabaul were sunk on the way, his troop was the last one to arrive."Am I Truly Stupid?" by Shigeru Mizuki, pg. 84 Upon arriving at Rabaul, he felt relieved at being able to arrive safely and asked "Where is this place?", which earned him a strong back-hand from his superior."Mizuki-san's Theory of Happiness" by Shigeru Mizuki, pg. 85 Such punishment was an everyday occurrence in the military,"Mizuki-san's Theory of Happiness" by Shigeru Mizuki, pg. 86 particularly Mizuki, who the superior officer always had his eye on, was given the nickname King of Slaps (ビンタの王様, Binta no Ō-sama). The superior officer was from Ibaraki and had a strong accent, and so would also use Mizuki's inability to understand his words sometimes as an excuse to slap him. Mizuki was unable to get used to the basic military life, but the commander of the regiment's 2nd troop (a commissioned officer in his 30s who owned a lumber mill in his hometown) paid him to draw his portrait once.[https://www2.nhk.or.jp/archives/shogenarchives/shogen/movie.cgi?das_id=D0001130006_00000 "Shigeru Mizuki-san's Testimony: Still Telling His War Stories Through Manga"] (Japanese) War Testimony Archives, NHK Mizuki also became on good terms with a seargant Ichirō Miya and a doctor Katsumi Sunahara. Mizuki's wartime experiences in New Britain would inspire many of his future works. In the Battle of Wide Bay, overwhelmed by the Allied Forces' superior firepower, Major Naruse of Mizuki's troop gave an honorable death order, but they were able to survive when Mizuki's company commander Kodama ordered them to use guerrilla warfare instead. However, when word reached headquarters that they disobeyed an honorable death order, Kodama took responsibility and committed suicide. Mizuki was then sent to a suicide squad stationed in Baien, and while on night patrol he came under machine gun fire from an enemy plane. Furthermore, while running away he ran into an attack from the natives and, in a panic, he jumped into the sea to escape. Unfortunately, the rest of the suicide squad was killed in the attack. Mizuki survived in the jungle for several days with just his bayonet and loincloth and, despite being overlooked by a Japanese search party, managed to return safely to his camp."Shigeru Mizuki's Rabaul War Journal" by Shigeru Mizuki, pg. 141-153 Although the soldiers were impressed to see him alive, the officers accused him of deserting and losing weapons. He was asked why he returned alive and told to find someplace to die."Mizuki-san's Theory of Happiness" by Shigeru Mizuki, pg. 96 From this point on, Mizuki began to develop a more nihilistic attitude."Mizuki-san's Theory of Happiness" by Shigeru Mizuki, pg. 97 Things got worse when, while on a march, Mizuki caught a cold which turned into malaria. He had a high fever, became delirious and occasionally wandered into the jungle. While Mizuki was still under medical care the camp was attacked in an enemy bombing and Mizuki's left arm suffered a serious wound. The arm was amputated without anesthetic while he was still delirious from malaria."Mizuki-san's Theory of Happiness" by Shigeru Mizuki, pg. 98-99 In early 1945 he was sent to the rear with the other wounded soldiers. Mizuki was worried because there was a rumor the useless soldiers were sent there and forgotten about, but when he arrived he was given medical care and was given field work to do."Mizuki-san's Theory of Happiness" by Shigeru Mizuki, pg. 100-101 His fear of death from the front lines began to dwindle, and soon he was interacting with the local Tolai Tribe. Mizuki was well-liked by the Tolai because he didn't look down on them like other soldiers, and Mizuki in turn would give them cigarettes and other goods, and before long he was considered like family to the tribe. Mizuki visited the Tolai so often he was punished for violating military regulations against mingling with the natives, and the Tolai in turn would visit him when he once again came down with malaria. He was punished on a regular basis by the commanding officer, but the aforementioned Captain Sunahara looked out for him."Mizuki-san's Theory of Happiness" by Shigeru Mizuki, pg. 102-103 On August 25, Mizuki's commanding officer was informed of the signing of the Postdam Declaration. At first Mizuki and the other soldiers were not certain about the meaning of the order and believed Japan had won, but they soon came to realize otherwise. While most of the soldiers were feeling dejected after the loss, Mizuki was just relieved to have survived."Mizuki-san's Theory of Happiness" by Shigeru Mizuki, pg. 104 While waiting at the Cape Cazelle prison camp for his turn to be sent home, the Tolai invited Mizuki to stay and live with them,"Mizuki-san's Theory of Happiness" by Shigeru Mizuki, pg. 109-110 and he seriously considered doing so."Shigeru Mizuki's Rabaul War Journal" by Shigeru Mizuki, pg. 225 However, at Sunahara's suggestion, Mizuki decided to return home and face his parents first. In March 1946, at the age of 24, Mizuki returned to Japan on the destroyer ship Yukikaze, docking in Uraga, Kanagawa Art school years Mizuki returned to Japan after 3 years and was admitted into the Sagamihara National Hospital to wait for first-rate treatment for his arm."Mizuki-san's Theory of Happiness" by Shigeru Mizuki, pg. 113 Due to a shortage of doctors and supplies, Mizuki decided to return home to Sakaiminato for recuperation as he waited for his turn. Mizuki's parents had not heard about his arm before he returned, but as soon as they knew they began to try to make things easier for him. His father even looked for jobs that didn't require the use of two hands, such as lighthouse keeper. However, Mizuki only wished to pursue an art career, the landscapes of his hometown he made before leaving inspiring him give it a shot."Mizuki-san's Theory of Happiness" by Shigeru Mizuki, pg. 114 The following year, he was finally able to return to Sagamihara for his surgery. Mizuki earned income by working at a dye works owned by the hospital painting ceramics, but it was barely a living wage. Before long, he worked with other patients and bought black market rice to sell and earn enough expenses to travel to Tohoko to buy food, but the plan ended up failing completely."Mizuki-san's Theory of Happiness" by Shigeru Mizuki, pg. 116-118 He was then invited by other wounded soldiers in the hospital to join a "secret society", where he lived in an abandoned buildings and took part in many business ventures with impoverished soldiers. While they were eventually found and evicted by the government, they were successful at raising funds, collecting donations while singing war songs. However, infighting led to the leaders of the group dropping out one after another, and so Mizuki applied for a government fish license to become a fish monger. He would deliver fish to families who ordered in advance, and soon he had a stable life for the first time since coming home. Furthermore, when starting out as a fish monger, he was inspired by retired army general Rippei Ogisu, who told to "Attack! Attack! Always attack!". As the economy got better, Mizuki thought more about painting again and learned that the Musashino Art School was taking applications. He immediately decided to enroll, but he needed a high school diploma in order to do so. He tried to talk to his old night school about it, but they declined, still considering his enlistment to be dropping out. However, he was able to talk to the art school personally about his situation, and a special exception was made for him to be enrolled. In 1948, he began art school at the age of 26. Because of his time in the war he was older than most of the students and behind in artistic developments (as well as his uniform was a used one), but he nonetheless studied hard. For work during this time he obtained a fish vendor license in order to sell fish and raise money to start a new pedicab business. He bought four pedicabs and rented them out for ¥500 a day. He also continued to sell goods on the black market, with his little brother now supplying items he received from the US Army."Mizuki-san's Theory of Happiness" by Shigeru Mizuki, pg. 119-120 Although Mizuki spent all of his time at school or work, his amateur company was overwhelmed by professional competition and soon went out of business. In order to revive the Secret Society, Mizuki teamed up with the vice-president to embark on a nationwide fundraising tour, but they came up short and ended up stuck in Kobe."Mizuki-san's Theory of Happiness" by Shigeru Mizuki, pg. 120 Realizing how hard it will be to earn a living as an artist, he gradually began to lose interest in his studies and dropped out a few years later."Mizuki-san's Theory of Happiness" by Shigeru Mizuki, pg. 124 This would end up being his last attempt at school, though he later recalled that he eventually became a high school graduate. Kamishibai years Rental manga years Popularity Later Years Death References }} pt-br:Shigeru Mizuki/Biografia History